HALLOWEEN NOVELTY SONGS: Music to Die For! (Part 3 of 3)

Welcome back! This is part 3 of my series of blogs on Halloween novelty songs. If you missed part 1 click here or if you missed part 2 click here. What originally started out to be a 2-part blog ended up being in three parts because of all of the great stuff I have found (and to be honest, I could probably do a part 4)! Hopefully these cd recommendations will help rock your Halloween party or add just a little bit of fun to your yard haunt this October 31st! So…for this edition…I will be covering horror host Zacherley, some great imports and a recently discovered (by me anyway) rarity box set that is a must have for any monster music cd collection!

If you are a fan of horror hosts then the name of Zacherley should be a name you are familiar with. Not only is he a great host, but he has put out quite a few albums over the years (which are now available on cd). This first one is his classic release MONSTER MASH PARTY from 1962. This cd features many great songs by Zacherley (there are 20 tracks alltogether) including his version of the “Monster Mash” and other songs he is known for like “Gravy” and “Weird Watusi”.

Next up is the 1995 release of DEAD MAN’S BALL. This is actually the first release by Zacherley that I ever bought (and it is my personal favorite). I would not of even known about this cd if it hadn’t been for SCARY MONSTERS MAGAZINE issue 12, that featured a “scary sound square” of Zacherley’s song “Zach Is Back”. I hated taking that record out of the magazine but I just had to hear it and it was just one of the best Halloween-themed songs I had ever heard. As soon as I saw that this cd was available I bought it. Some noted tracks (there are 18 in all, some of which or actual recordings from his television show) are “Happy Halloween”, “Grave Robbing Tonight”, “Dinner With Drac”, “Formaldehyde”, “Eternal Polyester” and of course “Zach Is Back”.

Next up is the first of two volumes called MONSTERS SOUNDS AND “BOPPIN” TRACKS. This import (from Brussels) features 22 tracks and is worth tracking down if you can find it. Occasionally copies do appear on eBay and they are alot of fun and include tracks found no where else. Some of the songs on this volume that stand out are “Lullaby Of Ghost Land” by Frankie Stein, “The Spook” by The Tomko’s, “Strange Happenings” by Rex Garvin, “Graveyard Shift” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, “Dinner With Drac” by John Zacherley and “The Monster Swim”, another variation of “The Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett.

Volume 2 (featuring exactly the same cover as Volume 1 except for red lettering and the “VOL.2 in the lower corner of the cover) features 27 tracks and like Volume 1, features stuff not found anywhere else. Both of these discs, in my opinion, can be played from beginning to end to the enjoyment of your Halloween party guests. Some of the noted songs here are “The Creeper” by Jerry Wald, “What Kind Of Ghoul Am I” by Frankie Stein, “The Thing” by Curtis And The Creepers, “The Lurch” by Ted Cassidy, “Weird Watusi” by John Zacherley and “Monster Mash Party” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett.

Next up is also the first of a two-disc set, this time imported from Germany. MONSTER BOP came out in 1993 and features 30 tracks, many very hard to obtain! This is another one of those discs you can listen to beginning to end and enjoy totally! The complete track listing is “Rockin’ In The Graveyard” by Jackie Morningstar, “Were Wolf” by Carl Bonafede, “Caveman Hop” by Jerry Coulston, “The Cat” by Rod Willis, “Midnight Monsters Hop” by Jack & Jim, “Nightmare” by Scottie Stuart, “Graveyard” by Leroy Bowman, “The Skeleton Fight” by Mack Allen Smith, “The Monster Hop” by Jimmy Dee, “Story That’s True” by Carl Bonafede, “The Gorilla” by Bert Convy, “Leopard Man” by Joe Wallace, “Nightmare Hop” by Earl Patterson, “The Monster” by Bobby Please, “Graveyard” by The Phantom Five, “Caveman” by Tommy Roe, “Mad House Jump” by The Daylighters, “Jekyll And Hyde” by Jim Burgett, “Haunted House” by Cris Kevin, “The Head Hunters” by Mike Fern, “I’m The Wolf Man” by Round Robin, “Frankenstein’s Den” by Hollywood Flames, “The Monster Hop” by Bert Convy, “Don’t Meet Mr. Frankenstein” by Carlos Casal, Jr., “I Was A Teenage Monster” by The Keytones, “You Can Get Him Frankenstein” by The Castle Kings, “The Gila Monster” by Joe Johnson, “Frankenstein Rock” by Eddie Thomas, “I Was A Teen-Age Cave Man” by Randy Luck and “Frankie Frankenstein” by Ivan.

This disc, released a year later in 1994, features one of my favorite CD covers. The beautifully painted image of the demon from the 1957 film CURSE OF THE DEMON reminds me of those amazing covers of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND done by Basil Gogos! This collection, featuring 31 tracks, also includes many songs found no where else and is alot of fun to listen to beginning to end! The track listing on this collection is “Bo Diddle In The Jungle” by Tommy King, “The Birds” by The Motivations, “Dry Bones Twist” by The Drivers, “At The House Of Frankenstein” by Big Bee Kornegay, “She’s My Witch” by Kip Tyler, “Night Mare” by Billy Sills, “Foo Man Choo” by The Revels, “The Zoo” by Mickey Lee Lane, “The Mummy’s Bracelet” by Lee Ross, “Monster Holiday” by Lon Chaney, “The Monster” by Evans Carroll, “Teenage Creature” by Lord Luther, “Shudders And Screams” by Ben Colder, “Screamin’ Ball” by The Duponts, “The Mortal Monster Man” by The Savoys, “Midnight Stroll” by The Revells, “Igor’s Party” by Tonys Monstrosities, “Black Widow Spider Woman” by Jack Hammer, “Mad Witch” by Dave Gardner, “Night Mares” by John Sowell, “Vampira” by Bobby Bare, “Voo Doo Woman” by Smiley Smith, “Graveyard Rock” by Tarantula Goul, “Werewolf” by The Frantics, “Wombie Zombie” by Billy Taylor, “Big Chief Buffalo Nickel” by Macey Ross, “Jungle Hop” by Kip Taylor, “Moon Madness” by Pasquale & The Lunar-Tiks, “Werewolf” by Gary Warren, “Creature From Outer Space” by Sonny Day and “Amazon” by Phil Carter.

This 2009 release, THE ULTIMATE ROCKIN’ HALLOWEEN PARTY, is an import from the United Kingdom. This collection features 20 tracks, all by original artists and many once again, not found anywhere else. This is one of my favorite cds to listen to in the car while driving this time of year. The track listing is “Igor’s Party” by Tony’s Monstrosities, “The Vampires” by Archie King, “I Put A Spell On You” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, “Graveyard” by Leroy Bowman And The Arrows, “Screamin’ Ball (At Dracula Hall) by The Duponts, “Bo Meets The Monster” by Bo Diddley, “She’s My Witch” by Kip Tyler, “Frankenstein’s Den” by The Hollywood Flames, “The Purple People Eater” by Sheb Wooley, “The Shadow Knows” by The Coasters, “The Blob” by The Five Blobs, “Frankenstein’s Party” by The Swingin’ Phillies, “Rock N Bones” by Elroy Dietzel And The Rhythm Bandits, “Graveyard Boogie” by Buster Doss And His Arkansas Playboys, “Swinging At The Seance” by The Deep River Boys, “Hoodoo” by Al Reed, “Zombi” by The Monotones, “Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor” by The Big Bopper, “The Fang” by Nervous Norvus and “”Mr. Ghost Goes To Town” by The Five Jones Boys.

THESE GHOULISH THINGS (HORROR HITS FOR HALLOWE’EN) is an import from London that came out in 2005. This compilation features 28 tracks, some of which are original radio plugs done by Bobby “Boris” Pickett. Though this collection features tracks found on some of the other cd’s I have discussed, this is still a great cd to have in your collection! One of the highlights of this release is the included booklet, that gives some great background information on the songs and the artists that performed them. Some songs of note are “Drac’s Back” by Billy DeMarco & Count Dracula, “Midnight Stroll” by The Revels, “Ghost Train” by Virgil Holmes, “I’m The Wolfman” by Round Robin, “Coolest Little Monster” by John Zacherley, “The Creature (From Outer Space)” by The Jayhawks, “Nightmare Mash” by Billy Lee Riley and “Feast Of The Mau Mau” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.

This import, if you can find it, is a great starter collection. This was released on Virgin Records in October of 2010 in the United Kingdom (why nobody releases great compilations like this in the US I will never know). It features a wide range of music and I believe it is the only compilation that features both Michael Jackson and Iron Maiden! There are 67 tracks in all, featuring a lot not available anywhere else. I cannot recommend this set enough! I am a little confused those by the inclusion of the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”! Here is a complete track listing: DISC 1: “Thriller” – Michael Jackson 2. “Ghostbusters” – Ray Parker Jr. 3. “The Time Warp” – Damian 4. “Bat Out Of Hell” – Meatloaf 5. “Feed My Frankenstein (live)” – Alice Cooper feat. Rob Zombie 6. “Fire” – The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown 7. “Hell Raiser” – The Sweet 8. “Hocus Pocus” – Focus 9. “The Devil Went Down To Georgia” – The Charlie Daniels Band 10. “Frankenstein” – The Edgar Winter Group 11. “Ghost Town” – The Specials 12. “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” – David Bowie 13. “Hungry Like The Wolf” – Duran Duran 14. “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” – Blue Oyster Cult 15. “Race With The Devil” – Gun 16. “Black Night” – Deep Purple 17. “Witches Promise” – Jethro Tull 18. “Psycho Killer (live)” – Talking Heads 19. “Waltzinblack” – The Stranglers.

The last collection in this series is another Rhino release from 2000 called BRAIN IN A BOX: THE SCIENCE FICTION COLLECTION. Leave it to a company like Rhino to come up with a 5 disc boxed set like this. This is one of the BEST ideas for a boxed set I have ever seen! The metal box is 7″ x 7″ x 7″ and on three sides is the holographic image of a brain…a brain in a box! The top and bottom of the box features the images of switches and gauges and on the back is the track listings of all five discs. I cannot recommend this set enough, if you can find it! New copies cost over $150 on Amazon though used copies can be found for about $50 (and it is worth it). One thing to remember about Rhino is that they always use original artists on their discs and though this is a science fiction-themed collection, many of the tracks can be used for your Halloween party as well. As an added bonus is a hard cover book called BRAIN IN A BOOK that is 200 pages long that not only discusses the songs in this collection but also the movies that influenced them! Have I mentioned how much I love this collection? To show you how good this set is, here is the complete track listing of all 5 discs!

DISC 1 MOVIE THEMES: (1) THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (SCIENCE FICTION/DOUBLE FEATURE) (2) 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (3) FORBIDDEN PLANET (4) THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (5) IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (6) CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (7) THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN (8) THE TIME MACHINE (9) THEM! (10) THE THING (FROM ANOTHER WORLD) (11) FIRST MEN IN THE MOON (12) THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (13) FANTASTIC VOYAGE: RADIO SPOT ANNOUNCEMENT (14) FANTASTIC VOYAGE (15) PLANET OF THE APES (16) THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (17) CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (18) ALIENS (19) E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (20) ROBOCOP ROBO VS. ED-209 (21) ROBOCOP MAIN TITLE (22) TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (23) OUTLAND (24) WAR OF THE WORLDS (25) PREDATOR (26) THE FLY (27) MARS ATTACKS! (28) THE MATRIX

DISC 2 TV THEMES: (1) THE TWILIGHT ZONE (2) LOST IN SPACE (3) MY FAVORITE MARTIAN (4) DOCTOR WHO (5) THE JETSONS (6) THE TIME TUNNEL (7) ONE STEP BEYOND (8) THE OUTER LIMITS CONTROL VOICE INTRODUCTION (9) THE OUTER LIMITS MAIN TITLE (10) MEN INTO SPACE (11) THE THUNDERBIRDS (12) STINGRAY (13) ASTRO BOY (14) VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA (15) LAND OF THE GIANTS (16) STAR TREK (17) STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (18) V (THE SERIES) (19) BABYLON 5 (20) THE SIMPSONS TREEHOUSE OF HORROR I (21) THE X-FILES (22) CHANGING CHANNELS

So that’s it…at least for this year! I hope you enjoyed these blogs and I hope you enjoy the music even more! If you have any cd recommendations please feel free to contact me! I am always looking for new stuff to add to my collection!

One thought on “HALLOWEEN NOVELTY SONGS: Music to Die For! (Part 3 of 3)”

I think “Everbody” by the Backstreet Boys was included more for its association with the video made for the song featuring mummies, werewolves, Dr Jekyl/Mr. Hyde, Phantom of the Opera and Vampires than for the song itself. But the song is fun. It’s on my Halloween playlist.